November 11, 2015

Veterans Day 2015

There is a quirk in human behavior that causes people to speak at great length in favor of things they find tiresome and don't believe, but want people to think are important to them. Shakespeare alluded to this with his famous "methinks the lady dost protest too much," line, but like so many elements of the Bard's work, it perfectly encapsulates actual human behavior.

The treatment of veterans by Democrats falls squarely into this category. On the one hand, Dm politicians almost uniformly fawn over veterans, surrounding themselves with them at events, lauding their service and sucking up to the groups that represent them.

Yet in practice, veterans under this administration have gotten nothing but back of the government's hand - either while service (when their needs and views are pushed aside in favor of ideological imperatives and social engineering) or afterwards, where their medical treatment is completely ignored.

To the Dem elites, veterans either belong on stage as a prop or in a national cemetery. Concerns about PTSD and health care disappeared once George W. Bush left office.

Part of this is cultural. Most Dems view military service as something "other people" do - usually ones who go to church, own firearms and hold outdated traditional views about honor, courage and duty. In short - idiots.

Oh sure, when they are running for office, they may allude to how they thought about joining - long, long ago, of course, in peacetime - but everyone knows its a lie.

Am I a little bitter? Perhaps, but it is hard not to be a cynic when one sees the military leadership entirely consumed with imposing massive social experiments and ideological goals to the exclusion of core readiness. During the 1990s, there was at least the bad excuse that peace seemed eternal and the threat horizon was (falsely) believed to be clear.

Now with wars continuing to sputter and global disorder growing, one ponders what kind of madness causes the government to insist that physical standards be lowering, combat efficiency compromised all so that a handful of women can share the dubious distinction of being abandoned on a foreign battlefield along with the men. We already know that female veterans are treated just as badly as the male ones by the Veterans Administration.

Thus the paradox: Not enough money to sustain our existing force, but plenty to allow female trainees to be endlessly recycled until a few can pass the minimum standards for Ranger training. When the Marines note that sexually integrated combat units are less effective, they are denounced as heretics.

During the 1990s, this same mentality was put on display with the drive to create female naval aviators. The product of this effort was Kara Hultgreen. The resulting tragedy was a loss to everyone involved - and should have demonstrated that the desire to create the "first" of anything can never be allowed to compromise standards.

Still, let us put aside these grim thoughts to once again thank our veterans who serve despite the dangers and unnecessary political burdens placed upon their service.

Unusually for this time of year, the sun is shining in a clear sky. With any luck, the Eleventh Hour will be dry and somewhat warm.